Sunday 30 January 2011

Take Daoism Seriously!

The study of philosophy in the West is typically very constrained by spatial boundaries. We study Western philosophers from throughout more than the last two millennia. Yet Eastern philosophers remain beyond the scope of so-called analytic philosophy, dismissed as being too obscure and spiritual. It is as if modern analytic philosophers really believe that nothing with sufficient metaphysical significance and logical clarity was written anywhere outside of Europe for over two thousand years.
It should be apparent by now, in light of the findings of quantum mechanics and other aspects of modern science, that some of the foundational assumptions of Western metaphysics, handed down from the Socratics and bolstered by the dominance of Judaeo-Christian beliefs, fail to accurately describe the world around us. We can no longer see the world as made up of distinct and permanent physical entities moulded and orchestrated by a divine Creator. Instead we must embrace the reality of impermanence, dynamism and the ultimately chaotic nature of reality.
Eastern metaphysical positions can be seen as far more akin to the reality that modern science presents to us.
The following paper by Martin Schönfeld is a good example of philosophy that attempts to bridge the artificial boundaries of Eastern/Western philosophy (as well as the analytic/continental divide) in order to search for a more coherent philosophical position

Sunday 16 January 2011